


Afterburns

by mari_aye



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Military, Fighter Pilots, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Test flights, hold on -flor, hoshihina, kourai is a fighter pilot, minor Miya Atsumu/Kageyama Tobio, shouyou is an engineer, this has been in my mind for fucking ever i am so sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:29:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25780624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mari_aye/pseuds/mari_aye
Summary: If soaring through the sky, complete autonomy in his hands is what Kourai chases- wings invincible to the point the human body is the limit-then this moment, this one whole hour of Kourai tearing through the skies so fast not even sound keeps up, is where his dreams start to breathe.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou & Hoshiumi Kourai, Hinata Shouyou/Hoshiumi Kourai
Comments: 8
Kudos: 27





	Afterburns

Kourai lightly pulls at the control column, making the jet's nose point towards the skies. As it descends, Kourai feels the light jerk of the flaring jet when it touches the runway. Slowly, _slowly,_ he eases down the jet, its front wheels now too running across the floating mass of asphalt. He feels the aircraft jerk to a halt as the arrestor wire promptly decelerates it.

This is a habit he'll never get used to. 

Touching the ground after twisting in the skies, rubbing clouds out of his eyes, plummeting and soaring like a hungry eagle. Eyes sharply examining the thin of the Earth's curve, the door to infinity- she is _beautiful_. Purple horizons fading into deep blues, the colour of the oceans grazing the heavens. Kourai is a bird, and the autonomy is addicting, the speeds and blurs make him feel invincible.

But then the aircraft carrier gravitates him to his duties, and everything skids to a halt once more.

It would probably be the best flight he flies that day, finally reaching Mach 2 - if it weren't for a _specific_ , annoying ATC controller sending in messages late because his damn twin brother stole his coffee.

Inspection is a blur, and all Kourai wanted to do was maybe snooze on a bed. Maybe he'll steal back Atsumu's coffee for himself, who knows. He'll probably get the rudders checked - they seemed to stutter briefly during flight- all this after a nap. _Definitely_.

So despite Kourai being in desperate need of sleep, why is it that a shock of orange hair gives him more energy than a shot of espresso?

"Hey, Kourai," Hinata Shouyou greets casually. It's rather refreshing to see the engineer out of his workspace for once.

"Hey, Shouyou," Kourai grins sweetly. The pilot approaches Shouyou innocently enough, before proceeding to promptly shoves his helmet onto the engineer’s head, pulling a yelp of surprise from him.

"Nice to see you out of your den hole, you rat," Kourai drawls dangerously, and Shouyou shrinks. "Where the ever-loving _hell_ were you?" Kourai presses. Shouyou sheepishly avoids eye contact with him through the window of the helmet.

"You haven't eaten anything but a bag of chips, have you?" Kourai continues to interrogate, leaning closer to Shouyou, the latter inching away. Shouyou laughs nervously, the twenty-something-year-old man looking like a child caught stealing candy from the kitchen cabinet.

Kourai finally relents and leans back, folding his arms like a cross parent. Shouyou breathes in, ready to spew some sort of retort that will probably have no effect on Kourai, so he saves Shouyou the trouble.

"I don't wanna hear it. I'm treating you to lunch in ten," Kourai commands and watches Shouyou's face contort into defeat when he grabs his wrists, heading inside the carrier building.

The hallway is grey and empty, their footsteps realigning as it echos off the walls. The only source of light are the beams of nascent sunlight from outside, illuminating the otherwise dull colored walls. 

Shouyou's skin burns on his palms, like the metal of a jet left under the sun for too long or perhaps the leather casing of the gear stick on a car. Maybe even like the caloric in Kourai's rib cage. It was hard to get used to, distracting and troublesome.

However, this isn't the only thing bothering the young pilot.

Shouyou was awfully quiet, Kourai notices. He knows the engineer hates being dragged around, hates being told what to do. So to bear witness to the otherwise stubborn engineer being silently led by Kourai with little to no resistance frustrates him to no end.

A flight of stairs and turns later, they reach the dorms Kourai was assigned to. Kourai himself hadn’t crashed here before, usually because he’d be spending the night in Shouyou workspace.

Work hasn't been kind to Shouyou. It had all started when Shouyou got chosen for a project involving hypersonic flight, not unpiloted, the goal being Mach 9.8 or possibly higher. Though Shouyou didn’t necessarily dislike the project, Kourai can tell from the dark circles underneath his eyes that there were days when the engineer wished his work wasn't as much of a burden as it was fun. Hence Kourai keeps his man company.

He pushes the man onto his bed, once again annoyed and borderline concerned about Shouyou's lack of resistance. "Stay put. I'm gonna get us some lunch." 

As soon as Kourai leaves his bedside, he feels a sharp tug on his sleeve. He looks over his shoulder to find Shouyou, gripping at his wrist, face flat and indecipherable.

A moment passes between the two. "You're _tired_ ," Shouyou finally says, quietly, pulling at his sleeve once more and dragging Kourai down to his level. Amber eyes locking onto olive ones. _'No, task focus, Kourai.'_

"So are you," Kourai whispers as his 'task focus' begins to die already. Chest thundering, Kourai's eyes flutter shut as he lets Shouyou pull him close. He fills the suffocating gap with a sweet kiss.

  
  
  
  


_You come to life_

_When all the people on the streets start to rise_

  
  
  
  


_Oh, he missed this_. Kourai threads his fingers through Shouyou's fiery hair, before settling his palms against the man's cheek. He feels Shouyou melt like ice under him, tense shoulders falling, a small sigh escaping through his lips. Shouyou's free hand rises to gently cup Kourai's nape, smiling _oh so_ softly against his mouth. From the looks of it, Kourai realizes, it seems that Shouyou missed this just as much.

They part, and Kourai feels cold as he sits down on the bed with him, not letting go. He feels cold, but those warm amber heavens embrace him once more, and Kourai thumbs at Shouyou's cheek. He feels the familiar comfort return, something he didn't know he had lost. He presses their foreheads together and truly relaxes for the first time in a week.

  
  
  
  


_And the sun starts to open up our eyes_

_We can make this moment stay with us for a while_

  
  
  
  


"How did your meeting go?" Kourai says under his breath, closing his eyes again.

"Engines not enough," Shouyou mumbles a reply, and Kourai feels his blood boil again.

"What is it _now_ ," Kourai mutters harshly, unable to keep the bite hidden from his voice. The engineer chuckles bitterly anyways.

"Consumes too much fuel, too expensive to fly." Shouyou lowers his head into the junction between Kourai's neck and shoulder, sighing there.

"What about the other engineers?" Kourai presses a kiss against the soft, fiery hair.

"Too busy. Don't prioritise," Shouyou says simply, voice flat and muffled. A long moment passes between them.

"...You're an idiot, you know," Kourai whispers against his hair, malice absent in his tone. Shouyou just breathes in, then pulls away.

"I'll go get us food," Shouyou says firmly, grazing his palm against Kourai's scalp once before he stands up.

"You sure? You won't ditch yourself, will you?" Kourai eyes him suspiciously as Shouyou bursts into genuine laughter.

"No promises, Kourai," Shouyou says, eyes lighting up finally, crinkles pulling at the corner of his eyes.

" _Oi_ , you're getting back here with our lunch in ten minutes. If you're late, I'm hunting you down!" Kourai's voice gets gradually louder as Shouyou exits the dorms, the man merely laughing off Kourai’s threats.

Kourai pauses before racing to the dorm door, eager to have the last word, "You're gonna be all tied up when you get back! See if you can work now!"

Shouyou- being the smartass he is- coos, "Sounds like fun!" he yells back. Kourai finally gives in and laughs, face heating up.

" _Bastard_ ," Kourai whispers to himself, despite the fond smile pulling at his lips.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


—□[ ¤ ]□—

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


"Where are you going?" Shouyou says, perking up from his work. It's another one of Kourai's nights at Shouyou's workspace, most hours primarily spent on brainstorming and sharing ideas. Kourai had actually fallen asleep whilst studying an article about NASA's hypersonic X-43. 

That is until the unwelcome ding of his phone woke him up.

"Hah, another patrol," Kourai grumbles, exhaustedly throwing on his uniform and jacket. He heads outside the room to the nearest water dispenser and brings back a glass for Shouyou, who accepts it gratefully, glancing at the clock hung on the wall.

"At _five_ in the morning?" amber eyes stare dumbfoundedly at him, brows furrowed.

"Apparently." Kourai casts him an exasperated look as he fetches his helmet. Shouyou shrugs, nonchalant, and resumes sketching away eloquently on the board, his pencil strokes not faltering one bit. From the looks of the cleanliness of his designs alone, it wouldn’t have seemed as though the engineer hadn't stayed up for four nights in a row.

_The man isn't stardust_ , Kourai thinks, the thought fleeting. He can't shine infinitesimally. He’ll eventually snuff himself out, like a candle eating away at its wick. He’d burn brilliantly, but the inevitable ash would soon go into his head. He's watched this happen once before, and he has witnessed the finality of an ashened Hinata Shouyou.

  
  
  
  


_You can count on it, I'm where you left me_

_I can count on you, to show me the way_

  
  
  
  


Kourai pauses in zipping his jacket and decides he's had enough. He's had enough of Shouyou's eyes fixated on the deep blue of ink and decides the man could use a change of scenery. It's time for a slight diversion from the ordinary, synthesized colour blue. Time for him to see the colour of the skies. Kourai plucks the pen from Shouyou's hands.

"You're coming with," Kourai says, and Shouyou nearly drops the glass of water.

"Wait, huh?" He asks stupidly, but Kourai is already grabbing Shouyou's gear coat and heading towards the door.

"Grab a G-suit. Catch up or you're never getting this back." Kourai raises Shouyou's prized coat and (fairly) expensive pen for emphasis.

"Wha- _Hey_!" Soon enough, Shouyou was trailing right behind him, exiting his workshop for the first time in a week.

  
  
  


A few minutes of jogging down hallways together, Kourai checks into the hangar. He turns on his torch to find giant metal birds sleeping soundly.

"Wait, you're not using the F-22?" Shouyou asks, shadowing Kourai as they pass Kourai's jet.

"Nah, I think I probably exhausted the poor thing the other day when I overused its afterburner," A smile plays on Kourai’s lips.

"That- that doesn't even make sense," Shouyou says, and Kourai could _hear_ the grin in his tone. 

"I know." Kourai pulls out his phone, typing away.

"And they'll let you switch, just like that?" Shouyou deadpans as Kourai puffs his chest.

"Please, Shouyou. If I got Fukurou on my side, I got a free pass in just about anything." Kourai stops in front of an F-16B. He informs Fukurou through text, getting a thumbs-up emoji in return.

"Wow, what a way to communicate. What are you, a civilian?" Shouyou laughs and Kourai snorts, grinning. "I'm gonna have to report to the ground faculty that you're using Hirugami-san as a hallway pass," Shouyou stops to admire the beauty, sighing.

"Feels like we're taking flight lessons all over again." He raises his arms.

"Yep, hop in," Kourai says, and Shouyou scrambles on his G-suit, his own helmet tucked in one arm. Kourai follows suit.

"Man," Shouyou wheezes, "haven't worn one in ages."

"You'll be fine, right?" Kourai asks, now concerned. Shouyou's head probably already feels like it weighs a thousand pounds, Kourai wouldn't want to be the reason Shouyou blacks out during a five-G manoeuvre.

"Duh." Shouyou looks him in the eye. There's a beat of silence between them as Shouyou tries to strap on his G-suit, fumbling with it around his thighs. He scowls in frustration as the second strap falls off, Kourai laughing at his misfortune.

"Here, I'll help the damsel in distress." Kourai bends down, whacks Shouyou's hands away and fumbles with them instead. There is an awkward moment of silence before Kourai pulls the straps, and maybe he does it a little too roughly because Shouyou yelps.

"That _hurt_ , you ass!"

"Yeah, yeah, shut up," Kourai slaps Shouyou's thighs, hard.

" _Oi_ -!"

"We're not doing manoeuvres anyway." Kourai finishes buckling the suit and stands up again. Shouyou pouts.

"You ready?" Shouyou asks, and Kourai eyes him.

"For what?" Kourai asks, suspicious. Shouyou just grins like he's snuggled in a billion tonnes of nebulae inside him. There's a bang, startling both men, and the hangar shutter screeches open.

The birds inside begin to bathe in the morning light, metal shimmering, window glass sparkling, amber warming up like a marble.

"For taking the back seat, you dumbass," Shouyou says simply, before he pushes the glass hood of the jet, and it rises elegantly.

Kourai blinks, watching Shouyou put on his helmet and climb into the front seat.

" _You're gonna fly_?" It wasn't that Kourai doubts the engineer's skills when it comes to flight- being an ex-pilot and all- it's just that Shouyou hasn't had the healthiest schedule this week to qualify flying a jet.

"I know what you're thinking. I've done this a lot, relax," Shouyou says, already buckling himself.

"And they'll let you?" Now it's Shouyou's turn to laugh.

"I got Kageyama, I'm gonna be fine," he retorts, mimicking Kourai's grin, and for a minute Kourai stands in silence. "You coming?"

He snaps out of his trance, "Yeah." The time exiting the hangar onto the runways is a blur to Kourai, his mind spinning through precautions and monitoring Shouyou's breathing patterns.

  
  
  


So far, he seemed...pretty normal? Kourai wants to worry for him, but the way he performs procedures seems to indicate nothing out of the ordinary. Who knows, he might pull it off after all these years.

  
  
  
  


_We can keep it light, we're going somewhere_

_I won't try to fight it, don't feel like it_

  
  
  
  


_'What the heck, this man is brilliant.'_ Kourai clenches his jaw, watching Shouyou scribble away on his checklist.

"I am ready," Shouyou says distractedly, "if you are ready, my love." Kourai jumps against his seatbelt.

"Don't," Kourai pauses, distaste evident in his tone, "call me that."

"Okay, then," Shouyou snorts, "here comes the afterburner." The Shooter on the sides gives them the signal, and Kourai braces for an immediate push.

Within seconds, the catapult slings them, zooming onto the carrier runway, and Shouyou pulls up, and just like that, they're airborne.

All Kourai can focus on is Shouyou's breathing, steady as ever. Their heads bob left as the jet sharp banks to the right, and Kourai can see the ground parallel to his face. And as soon as he finishes turning, Shouyou pulls on the control column, the jet now shooting upwards for the sky. "Departure, Comet 42, airborne, passing 200 for 5220," Shouyou says into the mic.

The climb to sixteen thousand feet is something Kourai should probably be used to, but seeing Shouyou on the front seat makes his stomach feel like he’s in a jet that dropped a hundred feet.

Shouyou is responding to the tower flawlessly, moving the control column in a perfect, almost robotic manner and cutting cleanly through the sky- it makes Kourai's heart swell with pride. 

_We aren't limited to only one way of being great._

Kourai glances over his shoulder and sees the world shrink behind his back, the sliver of purple horizons closing in marginally.

"You're amazing, you know that?" Kourai blurts and Shouyou chuckles sheepishly.

"Okay, but what about manoeuvre-?"

" _No_ ," Kourai shuts him down quickly, "not today." Shouyou pouts, and as the stars shy out of their hiding, Kourai's worry diminishes.

  
  


-

  
  


"Oh my god!" Shouyou perks urgently mid-flight. The jet jerks slightly, shaking Kourai, his tablet rotating its view, alarming him even further. They'd been flying over the ocean for an hour, and Kourai was performing his usual duties.

"What? What's wrong?" Kourai presses, slight panic in his voice evident.

"It's...nothing, nothing," Shouyou reassures, sounding like he's smiling. Kourai grunts quizzically.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


—□[ ¤ ]□—

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


_Aim_ , Kourai thinks to himself, as the aircraft flares and touches asphalt, pulling to full throttle in case it doesn't catch the arresting wire, a landing that would've been smooth on land otherwise, if it weren't for the jerks caused by said wire. Kourai felt like he was on autopilot; he was so tired.

He finishes hopping off the jet, taking off his helmet and ruffling his own hair to at least wake himself up for the next five minutes.

And as soon as the ground crew starts inspection, he sees Shouyou come sprinting towards him, the engineer looking like he hasn't slept in weeks, which- to be fair- he hasn't. The man grabs his wrist and starts dashing back in the opposite direction, towards the vague area of where Shouyou's workshop is. Kourai casts a glance back to his jet and the crew surrounding it, already looking exasperated.

"But-!"

"Inspection can wait, I promise!" Shouyou cuts him off quickly, and Kourai, practically immune to outbursts like these, allows himself to be dragged into the shady area.

If it were any other day, Kourai would be nonchalant to this. But there was something off with Shouyou in those past few days. He had been hanging out of his workspace more often than he would: talking to Bokuto and Sakusa, bickering with Kageyama, participating in the twins' antics, having lunches with Oikawa. He slept more, ate more; and at first, Kourai thought it was brilliant progress.

But then he quickly realised that despite all that, Shouyou had been quieter, more distant. Whenever he sat down to work, he would get little to no progress done, and Kourai would watch Shouyou hold himself back from pulling his own hair out. It was a common occurrence for him to hold a distressed, unmotivated, and exhausted Shouyou in his arms till he would fall asleep. 

Kourai wouldn't say anything, just thread his fingers soothingly through his auburn hair, because he _believes_ that Shouyou's pride and stubbornness would be enough to bring the engineer right back up. 

It worked, and Shouyou would resume his scribbling, attacking his board. This also meant Shouyou regressed back to his older habits; his appetite ran flat, his energy fueled on pure adrenaline alone, and he stopped hanging out with the others for the time being, including Kourai. So seeing him outside this week, on his own will, even for a few hours, was great news to the pilot.

  
  
  
  


_You make it right_

_Every moment that we spend without time_

  
  
  
  


So this time, Kourai shuts up and wills himself to be dragged by Shouyou. Skin warm like sunbathed metal. A few flights of stairs later, Shouyou kicks open his door, welcoming a sight Kourai usually should have been indifferent to.

Hinata Shouyou's workspace is known to be anything but tidy, but this time, he's _really_ outdone himself.

It's scattered with papers home to rough, beta designs resting against a board; bed covered with carbon paper and sketching tools; rogue pens that have given up or broken; filled notebooks stacked in the corners of the room; and miniature prototype engines littering the mighty desk sitting in the middle.

"Okay, you went wild." Kourai eyes disassembled pieces of what seemed like a piece of the hydraulics systems, "What'd you come up with?"

Shouyou whips his head around to face him, eyes wide and excited, " _I fixed it_ ," he says, struggling to level his voice. A beat. It seemed like Shouyou was only capable of saying a few sentences.

"Fixed what?" Kourai asks anyway. Shouyou starts to pace around his desk.

"Fuel consumption was still a problem, right? The jet still took too much, right?" Shouyou's vocabulary deteriorates for a split second and he flails his hands around. Kourai comprehends a mere gist of what Shouyou might be saying, but it isn't enough to give him a clear picture. It's all a blur.

"I _fixed_ it!" He yells at Kourai, voice stern as if he's mad the pilot isn't catching up. Kourai feels his annoyance flare, defiant.

"Fixed _what_?!" He repeats.

"The engines! I fixed them!" And there go the remaining crumbs of Shouyou's self-control- the man grabs Kourai's shoulders and shakes them lightly. _This guy has lost it,_ is the first thing that pops into Kourai's mind. He examines Shouyou properly, hoping he'd get a hint by at least just looking at the man.

Ginger hair was in absolute shambles, dark circles deep enough to hold groceries remained under his eyes, glasses askew, uniform ruffled. The man has been working non-stop ever since the meeting last week. 

Kourai didn't know the exact details of what seemed wrong with the team's beta design. Maybe the engines? Shouyou said the hypersonic jet consumed more fuel, and he said he "fixed" the engines..?

Engines? Fuel.

_Fuel._

It takes an embarrassing amount of time for the puzzle pieces in Kourai's brain to click.

" _Whoa_." Kourai stares at nothing in particular. A million other bright emotions diffuse like clouds in his chest as Shouyou finally lets go of the iron grip on the pilot's shoulders, starting to pace around again.

  
  
  
  


_Pain is something how we manage on the line_

_It's on us now to keep our route come hell high water_

  
  
  
  


"Forty-five percent," Shouyou says, a grin in his voice.

"Wait, wait, wait," Kourai shakes his head, blinking back at Shouyou, "you did all of that- in what- three day's time?"

Shouyou threw a look over at Kourai, an awkward and confused expression housing his features. A fresh wave of urgent frustration washing over Kourai.

"You redesigned two entire engines to be even more fuel-efficient. In _three_ days? _Last-minute_?!" Kourai clarifies and Shouyou bursts into a fit of nervous chortles.

And now, all the pieces fall into place.

"So that's why you hadn't spoken a word to me, you cheeky bitch!" Kourai laughs with him.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Tell me about it!" Kourai feels the engineer's excitement infect him and Shouyou brightens by a million candela.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


—□[ ¤ ]□— 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


"Kourai, Kourai, Kourai, Kourai!" Shouyou yells urgently, chanting as he barges into his workspace, the man in question jolting awake from his untidy bed.

"Huh, wha-?" Kourai blinks twice, rubbing away the sleep in his eyes, then freezing as Shouyou suddenly grabs at both his wrists, metal burning.

" _It got approved!_ " And Shouyou is shining. Shining like he's never shone. Positively beaming opal.

And those amber eyes glow again, after being blown out for so long. Briefly, Kourai vows himself to do his best and bring fire to these eyes, no matter how cold it is.

Kourai immediately sits up, and the million thoughts and questions die on his tongue and Shouyou crashes their lips together, smiling against his as Kourai falls back onto the mattress.

Kourai laughs against Shouyou's mouth, thrill ( _and relief_ ) blooming like wildfires and flowers in his chest. Shouyou sits on top of him and presses a kiss to his forehead, then another, then another, and another until he's peppering Kourai's entire face with excited kisses and pecks. It reminds Kourai of a giddy dog smothering his owner with love after weeks of not seeing each other.

"And guess what?" Shouyou holds back a childish giggle.

"What?" Kourai grins, uncontrollable and Shouyou’s laughter leaps out. It is the nature of the sun to laugh, it can’t help it.

"You're supposed to _guess_ , dumbass," he aggressively ruffles Kourai's hair.

"Okay, okay, okay," Kourai laughs, embarrassed, "tell me what happened."

Shouyou plops himself next to Kourai like a bouncy kid, "You're gonna be the test pilot. The test flight date yet to be scheduled."

Test

Pilot?

_Test pilot._

Kourai blinks, then raises himself off the mattress slightly. Lilies and roses open inside him as he chortles, surprised, watching how Shouyou presses his index finger to his grin.

"You'll get an email tomorrow."

"Wait, _what_?"

"Recommended the best of the best." Shouyou jerks his thumbs towards himself.

" _How did you manage-?_ "

"It just happened. Like _poof_ , approved. Just like the designs."

"Don't ' _poof_ ' me, you idiot," Kourai shuffles to jab at Shouyou's side, Shouyou catching his hand instead to intertwine their fingers, "You worked your ass off these months, of course, it had to be approved at some point in time."

"It's ' _we worked_ ', not just me," Shouyou says oh so quietly, squeezing his hand, raising it to press his lips against, not letting go.

Kourai takes a moment to look at Shouyou, his hair a mess, glasses askew, eyes on the verge of slumber. He looks at this tired man and wonders. Kourai lays back down and Shouyou shuffles closer, pressing their bodies together comfortably. The warmth and amperes that skid through his skin prove to Kourai the chaos in his ribcage exists, and isn't going away any time soon.

He tenderly places his hand on Shouyou's nape, fingers massaging through tiny bristles. _When's the last time he cut it?_ Kourai makes a mental reminder to ask Miwa for an appointment. He then locks his gaze with Shouyou, and finds nothing but endless months spent together in a room, working on an aircraft that’s promising enough to make a scientific leap.

  
  
  


_You know that it's you the reason that I come alive come alive_

_It lives in your eyes_

  
  
  


Kourai finds exhaustion in those amber eyes, but something else accompanies it. And the glint of hope is so bright. Hope for victory. And hope for something else, something stronger and firmer.

"It's all _you_ ," Kourai whispers back, laughter on the cusp of his lips that hold so much of this hope, so much relief, so much pride in Shouyou. Pride in what he has achieved, and pride in just him and the entirety of him.

God, Kourai's heart is so _, so full._

Shouyou's breathing quickens, and his eyes now vaults of stars from the galaxies. He leans their foreheads together, a huff of laughter escaping his lips.

  
  
  


  
  
  
  


—■[ ⌖ ]■—

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Shouyou is seated, jiggling his knee. Next to him is Kageyama, trusted to be the ATC controller for today. Nearly half the flight deck crew and traffic control crew are here suited up to witness Kourai conquer the skies. 

"We still have to perform duties too?" Bokuto had whined, a pained expression on his face. Bokuto and the others still had other jobs to complete, but that didn’t stop them from waiting for the instant they had to tend to the new jet. The traffic control crew are here too, doing their jobs. But as proven by Sugawara glancing every two seconds at Kageyama, sometimes even they can be distracted from duties.

Shouyou's seat is coincidentally close enough to the windows of the Tower, so the calm of where the sky meets the sea is clear, neat and sharp like a knife's edge. Quiet waters in a cloudless ball, dancing to the music of air and silent entropies. Endless, and forever blue.

His first days on the carrier were spent like this, trying to catch the little moments during the chaos of work where it would just be him and the endless ocean- its roars enchanting, whispering promises to Shouyou, promises he himself wasn't sure about. Today again, they vow to him in muted tones. And he resigns to them.

Despite everything, Shouyou's hands quiver. They itch to do something, so Shouyou keeps flipping out his phone, checking if Kourai sent him a text like he sent Fukurou a while back.

Immediately, second guesses and ideas he really shouldn't be thinking right now leech onto his mind, unable to let go.

Today's _the_ day.

A few days prior, Kourai had gotten the email, clarifying how he needed to fly back to base to train for the test. Even if it wasn't the first time Kourai had to leave the carrier for other duties, it still shook Shouyou's nerves for reasons he didn't understand himself.

Kourai described the flight path to him as they video chatted. _From base to the carrier, and back again,_ he recalls Kourai saying in a hushed voice, during the night when his given dorm is deserted. Shouyou thought of olive lawns, as he watched Kourai's eyes flutter shut, freeing away into slumber.

Kourai was the comet in the sky, burning, luminous and the main attraction. Shouyou, too, thought of how much of a bird Kourai really is, belonging in the skies, haloing the sun, gathering stars, wings infinitely on fire, blinding. He thought, if it all works out, this could be the best thing Shouyou has done for Kourai.

"Hoshiumi-san's gonna be fine," Kageyama says, snapping Shouyou out of his trance. He must have noticed Shouyou zoning out, and only assumed he was anxious, for whatever reason Kageyama's mind can conjure up.

Really, it was about how much Kourai will beam flying that jet. 

Shouyou blinks, gaping back at his cobalt eyes. Shouyou then snorts, a small smile locking into his lips, "Yeah, _okay_." 

"Seabird 18, airborne, climb and maintain three-one thousand, thirty thousand," Kageyama says into the mic.

"He's up," Shouyou says a bit too loudly, grinning behind a hand, a million other bright emotions diffusing like clouds in his chest. This perks the attention of Atsumu, Oikawa and a few other people around him, but Shouyou isn't really paying attention.

"He's up," Kageyama repeats, and he too, is glowing. 

"520 knots," Shouyou mumbles to himself, the Mach reading steadily going up.

The others gradually group around them, some sitting, some coming towards the sides to get a better look.

"Hey," Oikawa pipes and points at the screen, "this is the jet you worked your ass four months off for, right?" Shouyou snickers.

"Well, I didn't do it alone." He tilts back into his chair. Oikawa and Atsumu hum in understanding, probably concluding the rest of the team came around to help, and because of this, Shouyou has to punch a loud laugh all the way back in his stomach.

_He's flying_. His heart is rumbling like an engine. Shouyou only wonders what Kourai's feeling right now. Anticipation. Impatience too, perhaps? He also wonders if this is what Kourai has dreamed of. 

If soaring through the sky, complete autonomy in his hands is what Kourai chases- wings invincible to the point the human body is the limit- then this moment, this one whole hour of Kourai tearing through the skies so fast not even sound keeps up, is where his dreams start to breathe.

_Mach 1.4_

"There's the Mach," Atsumu grins, chin over Kageyama's shoulder, as he eyes the altimeter going ballistic for a split second.

And for a split second, Shouyou sees a nineteen-year-old Hoshiumi Kourai on the flight deck, olive eyes scrutinising the heavens, towards the vague direction from where the Seabird is reckoned to come, the turmoil of a walking town filling his chest. Shouyou blinks, and he's gone. Vanished back into memories.

"Jesus _Christ_ , he's fast," Semi whispers from Kageyama's side. Shouyou focuses his eyes back on the Machmeter, the readings steadily climbing.

_Good God_ , the day they met wasn't at all smooth. Kourai had become defensive when talking to Shouyou, so much so that he would try to avoid all training sessions with him. But as time progressed, the lion slowly turned into a deer. Kourai melted away and smiled more often. He softened whenever Shouyou struck a conversation with him.

Shouyou reckons Kourai has worked harder than he has. Kourai had been flying through storms on the first day they met, but he wouldn't hide it, he would proudly smile and accept these beasts. And instead of passing through them, he tamed them. It is because of him a lion bows before a jackal.

_Mach 3.5_

Images flash by of when Kourai had clung onto Shouyou, refusing to let go. His head pressed against Shouyou's chest, his hands fisting at the man's changed uniform. Shouyou had been retired due to some fluctuations in his eyesight, and instead had been regressed to an aircraft engineer, evaluating his talents.

He remembers Kourai had shouted promises at him, voice shaking and faces close, all sealed with one gap closing.

_Mach 4.7_

"He's gonna do it," Oikawa says, glee in his voice.

And Shouyou had realised there were still glimmers of a lion cub hidden in that of a deer. Shoujou had felt him bury his head in the crook of his neck, and Shouyou remembers holding him close, letting him scratch the insecurities out from the inside. Shouyou assumes if he hadn't let Kourai grip and shake him, he would never have done all of these things in the past few years.

_Mach 5.4_

There is a buzz of excited voices going around the small crowd and Shouyou can't help but grin at them.

But then, " _Look_ ," Semi whispers, and Shouyou recognizes it too. On the radar, the flickering indicator of the Seabird blinks onto the screen. Shouyou's grin falters slightly.

"Does he have enough time to hit the numbers? He's already close enough," Atsumu ponders.

"He's still just half-way there, will he be able to speed up in time?" Someone else- Shouyou’s not bothered to remember their voice- asks, and Shouyou glances at the ocean again.

Endless, and forever blue.

_Mach 6.7_

"He'll do it," Shouyou finds himself saying, "he'll find a way."

People were piling along the terrace of Tower, all hoping to catch a glimpse of the promised Seabird zip through the heavens, trailing thunder. And just for a moment, Shouyou indulges in how it would feel. _The victory, the rush, the pride._ And if Shouyou is selfish for wanting all of it for Kourai, so be it.

Maybe if Kourai pulls it off, Shouyou will make him something. He deserves it.

_Mach 7.2_

He can do it. _He can do it._

He leans back, knees jiggling anxiously again. His belief in Kourai doesn't halt the flurry of emotions ravaging in Shouyou's chest and abdomen, doesn't stop him from nibbling at his nails. The people around him are silent, eyes wide, suspenseful. The Seabird is still approaching, close, but _still_ not close enough. 

_Mach 8.4_

" _Come on_ , Kourai..!" Shouyou clenches his fists.

From the deck, a fighter jet takes off, its engines roaring and screaming, and it momentarily throws off everyone surrounding Kageyama, distracting them from the screen.

"Oh!" Semi yells and a second later, bellows and exclamations follow. Shouyou's chest swells, head screams and he beams sunlight.

  
  
  


_Mach 9.1_

  
  


Shouyou stands up.

"He's still got a _little_ more to go!" Atsumu cries, his voice rising above excited chatter. But Shouyou already knows Kourai will make it, his belief in Kourai not letting them down is firm. His belief in Kourai, pushing everything to its limit, is unmistakable. And this same belief drives Shouyou to run. And he is already disappearing from his seat and sprinting across the room, with no one calling after him.

Nebulae fade into existence, forming stars inside him, and he nearly trips running down the stairs. His ecstatic heartbeat flows into the rhythm of music, his breathing mimicking that of running on mountains, the fresh oceanic winds making his tingly skin float. His head is filled with clouds, _Hence, the cloudless sky,_ Shouyou muses. 

He skids to a halt on the flight deck, scanning the heavens- frantically _looking, looking, looking- for any sign, sound, sight-_

  
  
  
  


A glimpse of white. 

Then three consecutive, _deafening_ cracks of thunder. 

All drowned by Shouyou's roars, every atom in him bellowing.

  
  
  
  


A few moments later, Oikawa hurries down next to him, breathless.

" _Mach 10.2!_ " He beams and Shouyou feels like an eagle.

  
  


-

  
  


Shouyou paces around, fidgeting. His eyes are fixated on the man inside the jet, and all of a sudden, Shouyou feels like a nineteen-year-old again, chest fluttering, hands sweaty, adrenaline poisoning his veins.

And as soon as Kourai skips out of the jet- raising his helmet with pride and pressing his lips to it- Shouyou makes a run for it.

And a second later, he collides with Kourai, coiling his arms around him- and Shouyou swears Kourai's face lit up like the morning dawn.

  
  
  
  


_In your skin in your hair, I'm tangled up_

_In my head, in my mind, I can't get out_

_When you twist and you turn teach me to run_

  
  
  
  


They yell like they won a gruesome Olympic game, and Shouyou thinks; as the crew and others come running towards them; as Kourai brings a hand to the back of his head; as the horizon is clear, neat and sharp like a knife's edge; the real high of victory comes from _him_.

  
  
  
  


_I grab and hold on,_

_I grab and hold on tight._

  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> yes i know hypersonic jets dont work that way  
> yES i know japan doesnt own an aircraft carrier  
> YES I KNOW shouyou is slightly ooc
> 
> but yknow what
> 
> i had fun writing this <3
> 
> SPECIAL THANKS TO THE HSHN GC!!! esp @/REDismyfavorit4 for betaing this YOU'RE A LIFE SAVER
> 
> follow me on @/kiyoriosity for more hoshihina!!
> 
> -
> 
> chiraz, this one's for you ♡


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